I’m writing this as I sit in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., Ground Zero for the massive earthquake known as PPACA that destroyed the very foundation of the employee benefit agency. As the ground beneath you shifted and, in some cases, simply fell away like a massive sinkhole, no wonder that most benefits professionals were left disoriented and shaken up.

The crisis created by healthcare reform is the greatest upheaval the employee benefits industry has ever experienced.

But now, six years after PPACA was signed into law, the ground has largely settled. The tremors are few and far between. So, what do you see when you survey the employee benefits landscape?

In my book, DO or DIE: Reinventing Your Benefit Agency for Post-Reform Success (www.insurancebottomline.com/doordiebook), I wrote that the Chinese character for “crisis” is, in fact, composed of two separate characters. The first is the character for “danger.” The other character, however, is that for “opportunity.” Interesting, no?

A crisis always includes some element of danger…good sense dictates that you be aware of and avoid the danger. With PPACA and the crisis in our industry, the danger for benefits agencies is obvious. Change your business model or within five years expect to be acquired, out of business, or irrelevant in the market. Do or die.

The opportunities are not always as obvious but they certainly are there. Confusion on the part of employers, compliance issues, employers wanting more insight and greater value from their broker, employees confused and needing benefit education and communication…. I could go on and on.

Crisis… chaos… change… they always create opportunity. ACA and its aftershocks are changing the rules and changing incentives. Yes, the earthquake is blocking or shrinking old revenue streams but opening up new revenue opportunities for the smart agency leaders and advisers.

So, when you look at the post-reform world, do you see only the danger – the challenges and the obstacles to relevance, profitability and growth? Or do you see the opportunities?

Let me leave you with a wonderful story that illustrates your choice:

Two shoe salesmen were sent to the Australian bush to see if there was a market for their product.

The first salesman reported back, “This is a terrible business opportunity…no one wears shoes.”

The second salesman reported back, “This is a fantastic business opportunity…no one wears shoes!”

Which perspective do you have?

I don’t have to tell you which outlook I find in those agency leaders who are experiencing double-digit growth and expanding their market share.